US Ambassador Responds to Park Damage Report

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U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White said Friday that organizers are addressing concerns after reports that a lavish Independence Day celebration may have damaged part of a Brussels park.

"We are in immediate contact with the Belgian company that was hired to coordinate all event logistics, including the fireworks company, for our event to celebrate 250 years of U.S. independence," White wrote on X.

"We were informed that the company is proactively addressing any questions related to this matter with the appropriate agencies and will remediate where it is required," White added.

"I have been to the park one hundred times over these last eight months. Cinquantenaire has never looked any cleaner than it was the day after we cleaned up after our event," White continued.

More than 8,800 invited guests attended the America 250 celebration, which featured a fireworks display beneath the arch at the Cinquantenaire and a gala at the park's Royal Museum of Art and History building, Politico reported.

But Belgium's Building Authority said in a statement to Politico that "fireworks debris was found on the roof, and certain limited areas of the roof appear blackened," adding that "analyses are still ongoing" before the agency could say how much repair work is needed.

Belgian Buildings Minister Vanessa Matz told RTBF the agency is investigating "whether any damage is a consequence of the event or of last weekend's bad weather."

White said the event, which reportedly cost about 5 million euros, was financed through donations from 220 Belgian and American companies, De Standaard reported.

Sam Barron

Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.

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